Ex-chief, Shelby Township resolve lawsuit

Former Shelby Township police Chief Robert Leman and Shelby Township have agreed to settle the ex-top cop’s wrongful-discharge lawsuit.

But how much the chief will receive from the township and its insurance carrier has not yet been released.

“All I can tell you is it’s been amicably resolved,” Joseph Golden, Leman’s attorney, said recently.

Shelby Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis said the township’s insurance policy includes a “$10,000 deductible;” meaning the township pays the first $10,000 of any claim in such cases and the insurance company absorbs the rest.

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But citing advice from lawyers, Stathakis would not reveal the entire settlement amount.

“I can’t say anything,” he said.

Leman could not be reached for comment.

Confidentiality, or non-disclosure, of the amount of settled lawsuits is not unusual. But in the case of a taxpayer-funded entity, like Shelby Township, withholding the information is problematic.

Macomb County Circuit Court records indicate the sides agreed to settle the lawsuit in late January, but court records also classify the case as still “open.”

The Macomb Daily twice made requests on the Freedom of Information Act for details of the settlement.

In denying the first request on March 4, the township said the case was still in litigation and, as a result, the requested documents were “not complete.” Township officials recommended the newspaper resubmit its request in one week.

The newspaper followed that suggestion. On Monday, The Macomb Daily received notice from Shelby Township that officials would extend by 10 days the deadline for complying with the second FOIA request.

The delay is necessary, township officials said, “to allow … time for compilation and review of the records requested, and make a determination regarding what information is permissible for release under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act.”

Leman served as Shelby Township police chief for 10 years until the Board of Trustees voted in September 2001 to allow his contract to expire. A majority of board members expressed dissatisfaction with his job performance as the reason for letting Leman go.

But Leman contended he was a victim of political retaliation related to his role in an investigation of Stathakis and then-Treasurer Paul Viar in separate incidents.

Leman filed the lawsuit claiming wrongful discharge.

Less than a year after township officials discharged the ex-chief, Leman mounted an unsuccessful campaign to unseat Stathakis as township supervisor.